Written by: Dustin Malcolm
It all begins somewhere. If you walk around downtown Los Angeles on game night, an undeniable buzz fills the streets as the posters that drape down the side of the Staples Center proudly display the Lakers’ latest accomplishment. Winning has become an honored tradition for the World Champions. But it hasn’t always been that way.
The Lakers struggled with their hated rivals in Boston from the very beginning of their move to Los Angeles, losing in 6 NBA Finals appearances following the inaugural 1960-1961 season. There was no doubt that the Lakers had the talent, as players like Jerry West and Elgin Baylor continued to dominate the NBA with their performances. But 1972 was a year that an undeniable spark consumed a determined team and brought Los Angeles their first taste of glory.
The season began with all signs pointing to some Laker magic. Jerry West, who remains the only player in history to win the NBA Finals MVP on the losing squad (1969), was enshrined as legend in becoming direct inspiration for the new NBA logo, commemorating the league’s 25th anniversary. After a painful battle with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1971 Playoffs that featured the young and powerful Lew Alcindor, the Lakers were clearly favored in the following year.
Wilt Chamberlain was a force at his position for the ages, and with a high scoring backcourt tandem of West and Gail Goodrich, who would later combine for an average of over 51 points per game, the Lakers were in prime position to dominate the league in their ever elusive quest towards NBA immortality.
Next: Losing a Legend and Starting a Streak…
Nine games into the season, Los Angeles collectively held their breath as 13-year veteran Elgin Baylor announced his retirement after he realized he had as much mileage out of his aging knees that he was ever going to get. The 11-time All Star and savior of a struggling Minneapolis franchise was a fan favorite and a player who is often regarded as one of the league’s best.
But something else happened that night at the Great Western Forum. The Lakers began a win streak that still stands today as the best in all North American Major League sports. The Lakers won all 14 of their games in November, and then proceeded to win all 16 in December on their way to an unprecedented 33 game win streak. It eclipsed the Bucks’ mark of 20 set the season before, and it was the Bucks who ironically ended the Lakers’ streak in a 120-104 win at home.
In the midst of their season domination, the Lakers players each exhibited a will in driving their team to the top. Jerry West led the league with an outstanding 9.7 assists a game while averaging 25.8 points per game. In the absence of Elgin Baylor, Chamberlain bested the rest of the NBA in grabbing over 19 rebounds and had help from veteran Happy Hairston and sophomore forward Jim McMillian. Hairston averaged 15 rebounds per game over the latter half of the season and McMillian chipped in with an integral 18.8 points per game.
Chamberlain would end up leading the league in Field Goal percentage as well at close to 65%. But one of the biggest standouts was the second half of the Lakers backcourt, Gail Goodrich who averaged a career best 25.9 points per game and helped West bolster a backcourt that was unrivaled in the game at the time.
Next: All-Star Game and Playoff Challenges…
The All-Star game was held at the Forum that season, and the buzz surrounding the Lakers players was undeniable. Chamberlain and West were both selected to their 12th All Star games while Gail Goodrich also got the honor of playing in his second.
Jerry West rightfully led the West squad in scoring and electrified his home crowd while the game was tied at 110 late in the 4th quarter. Jerry West dribbled the ball down court and as time expired, Mr. Clutch was able to hit a 20-foot running jumper to send the West to victory and earn himself the All-Star MVP.
By the time the playoffs began to approach, the Lakers would post a 69-13 record, which would stand as the best in the NBA up until the 1995-1996 Bulls broke it. Another benchmark set in the Lakers’ historic season was the margin of defeat; the Lakers beat the Warriors by 63 points, that stood tall until Cleveland in 1991 beat the record by 5 points in a win against Miami.
The Lakers saw multiple players get nominated to All NBA teams; most significant was Jerry West to both the All-NBA First and All-Defensive teams. The nominations were his ninth and second, respectively. Wilt Chamberlain secured a spot on the All-NBA Second team and was matched alongside Jerry on the All-Defensive First team.
At the end of the year, the Lakers were the league leaders in scoring with 121 per game, rebounding at 56.4 a game and assists, with just over 27 a game. They beat teams consistently by the most points, as they posted another NBA best with 12.3 points better than opponents did.
As if the records set by this team in the league were not enough, they also own an overlooked statistic that really speaks to how well put together this team was regardless of where they played. They posted a 31-7 (0.816) record on the road which still stands as the best in league history.
Being in a new city with unparalleled fanfare, the Lakers were hungry to bring their first title to Los Angeles. Not having won a title since 1954 in Minneapolis only added fuel to the fire.
Finishing the season as the best team in the league, the Lakers quickly made early work of the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Semifinals, winning the series in a convincing sweep. The next round saw them paired up against the Bucks who easily were the Lakers’ biggest pain in recent years prior. This series would prove to be no different.
Fresh off Rookie of the Year and MVP honors, Alcindor helped his team blow out the Lakers in Game 1, which sent fans into a panic. The Lakers then came back and won both games two and three, both of which were decided by
three points or less. Game four turned out to be a blowout in the Bucks favor yet again, leaving the superior Lakers team leaning against the ropes.
Next: The Beginning of a Winning Tradition…
Just as the 2010 Lakers did in their most recent title, the 1972 team gritted out the next two games of the Finals. They came home and won in convincing fashion to take a 3-2 lead. Traveling to Milwaukee for game 6 culminated with the Lakers biggest win of the playoffs and would send them to the finals against Walt Frazier and the New York Knicks.
The Bucks would prove to be the Lakers biggest challenge, as Los Angeles easily dispatched New York after a
Game 1 hiccup. The Lakers gained revenge from their seven-game defeat in the historic 1970 Finals and brought Los Angeles its first taste of Finals victory, while Wilt Chamberlain won Finals MVP after accruing an unreal 21 RPG mark.
When all was said and done, the 1972 Lakers team was truly one of the greatest teams the NBA has ever seen. All time greats West and Chamberlain were on the downward sides of their careers and West was finally able to secure a Championship despite already putting up statistics that would cement him as a league legend.
This specific team harbored five future Hall of Famers at one point: Baylor, West, Goodrich, Chamberlain and future coaching great Pat Riley. The first four on this list have their bright gold uniforms retired in the rafters of the now bustling Staples Center; forever leaving their embrace on the franchise and becoming undisputedly responsible for bringing the winning tradition to which we are all accustomed to in the city of Los Angeles.